Sir Henry Russell, 2nd Baronet

Sir Henry Russell, 2nd Baronet (27 May 1783 – 19 April 1852), was an English diplomat and landowner.

Sir Henry Russell, Bt
Born(1783-05-27)27 May 1783
Died19 April 1852(1852-04-19) (aged 68)
OccupationDiplomat
Spouses
Jane Amelia Casamajor
(m. 1808; died 1808)
Marie Clotilde de la Fontaine
(m. 1816; died 1852)
Children7, including Charles, George
Parent(s)Sir Henry Russell, 1st Baronet
Anne Barbara Whitworth
RelativesSir Charles Whitworth (grandfather)
Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth (uncle)

Early life

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Russell was born on 27 May 1783. He was the eldest surviving son of Sir Henry Russell, 1st Baronet, and his second wife, Anne Barbara Whitworth (1763–1814).[1] Among his siblings were Charles Russell (MP for Reading),[2] Francis Whitworth Russell (who married Jane Anne Catherine Brodie),[3] the Rev. Whitworth Russell (who married Frances Carpenter),[3] George Lake Russell (who married Lady Caroline Pery, a daughter of the 1st Earl of Limerick),[3] and Henrietta Russell (who married Thomas Greene of Whittington Hall).[3]

His paternal grandparents were Michael Russell of Dover, and the former Hannah Henshaw (a daughter of Henry Henshaw). His mother was the fifth daughter of Sir Charles Whitworth, and his maternal uncle was Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth.[3]

Career

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Seal of Henry Russell made out of two parts, with the seal itself having been created in Hyderabad in 1804/5, whereas the clasp was made in the mid-19th century in Europe, probably Britain. Russell received the emerald seal while at Hyderabad. The three-line inscription in nastaliq script reads: Intizam al-Mulk I'timad al-Dawlah Henry Russell Na'ib Jang Bahadur 1219 ('The valiant, the Administrator of the Kingdom, the Pillar of the State, Henry Russell, deputy Commander-in-chief, 1219 [1804–5 AD]')

Russell was Private Secretary and assistant to James Achilles Kirkpatrick, British Resident to the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar from 1798 until Kirkpatrick's death in 1805. Russell's career is discussed in some detail in William Dalrymple's 2002 history of British India, White Mughals, where he figures as a gifted but weak diplomat. Russell seduced Kirkpatrick's widow, the Hyderabadi noblewoman Khair-un-Nissa, but abandoned her after a brief affair.[4][5] He was subsequently appointed a Resident in his own right to the court of the Peshwa at Pune in 1809, and was promoted the following year to Kirkpatrick's old Residency in Hyderabad, serving from 1810 until 1820, when he resigned to avert an investigation for corruption which would have led to his removal from office in disgrace. On an annual salary of £3,400, he had managed to accumulate a fortune of £85,000 over 10 years.[4] In retirement he lived first at Sutton Park in Bedfordshire, then at Southernhay House, an architecturally notable listed building in Exeter. It was a newly built, freestanding, classical mansion of pillared grandeur.[4]

In 1820 the Russell family, including his father, the 1st Baronet, and his two most successful sons, Charles and Sir Henry (later the 2nd Baronet), pooled their resources and purchased Swallowfield Park, near Reading, Berkshire, where they and their descendants remained for over 150 years.[6]

Personal life

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Portrait of his second wife, Marie Clotilde Mottet de la Fontaine, by Sir Thomas Lawrence

In October 1808 Russell married Jane Amelia Casamajor, a daughter of John Casamaijor, in Madras. Jane died suddenly just two months after they were married.

On 13 November 1816, he married Marie Clotilde Mottet de la Fontaine (1793–1872), a French Catholic who was the daughter of Benoît Mottet de La Fontaine, Baron fieffé de Saint Corneille, the last French Governor of Pondicherry. Her first cousin was Agathe de Rambaud, the official nurse of the royal children, and particularly was in charge of the Dauphin from 1785 to 1792.[7] Together, they were the parents of six children:

Sir Henry died at Swallowfield on 19 April 1852,[9] and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Charles. After Charles died unmarried in 1883, the baronetcy passed to Sir Henry's next surviving son, George.

Illegitimate daughter

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After the death of his first wife and before his marriage to his second, Russell had a liaison with a local lady which resulted in the birth of his daughter, who he named Mary Wilson in 1815. This child was brought to England when he retired, and was brought up in complete secrecy, with Sir Henry's friend, Major Robert Pitman, acting as a go-between. He provided an allowance for her, but refused to let Major Pitman tell her the identity of her father. Mary married the Reverend William Langston Coxhead in 1839, who was incumbent of Kirby le Soken, Essex.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Lady Russell and son c.. 1786 by George Romney. Oil on canvas. George Romney b. 1734 d.1802, was now… | 18th century fashion, Rococo fashion, 18th century portraits".
  2. ^ Fisher, David R. "RUSSELL, Charles (1786-1856), of 27 Charles Street, St. James's Square, Mdx". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, pp. 3442-3443.
  4. ^ a b c Dalrymple, William (2002). White Mughals: love and betrayal in eighteenth-century India. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-200412-X.
  5. ^ Chatterjee, Indrani (2004). Unfamiliar Relations: Family and History in South Asia. Rutgers University Press. p. 147. ISBN 0813533805.
  6. ^ Finn, Margot; Smith, Kate (2018). The East India Company at Home, 1757-1857. London: UCL Press. ISBN 978-1-78735-029-8.
  7. ^ Titled berceuse des enfants de France.
  8. ^ published three books, "Three Generations of Fascinating Women and other Sketches from Family History" published by Longmans, Green and Co. 1905; "Swallowfield and Its Owners" 1901; "The Rose Goddess and other sketches of Mystery and Romance" 1910
  9. ^ "READING". Jackson's Oxford Journal. 24 April 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Correspondence between Sir Henry Russell (1783-1852), Major Robert Pitman and Mary Wilson" (PDF). www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk. Manuscripts division of the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baronet
(of Swallowfield)
1836–1852
Succeeded by